Vopak scales up biofuel capacity at major bunkering location Sebarok island
Wong Pei Ting
SWELLING interest in the use of biofuels to power ships has brought a major tank storage company here to switch out petroleum capacity equivalent to more than 10 Olympic-sized pools for the greener fuel.
Dutch tank storage company Vopak announced on Monday (Feb 26) that it has repurposed assets formerly used to store and move 40,000 cubic metres of petroleum products into assets that can support the blending of biofuels into marine fuels.
The new biofuel capacity makes up just 3 per cent of Vopak’s capacity on Sebarok island, where the company has 83 tanks with a combined capacity of about 1.3 million cubic metres.
Even so, the repurposing is an indication of the growing momentum propelling biofuel usage as the shipping industry decarbonises.
Rob Boudestijn, president of Vopak’s Singapore business unit, said the new biofuel capacity is underpinned by “customer commitment”.
He also expects the development to facilitate the entry of more biofuel companies, to diversify the supply chain for marine biofuels.
The vision is for Vopak’s Sebarok terminal to be turned into a sustainable multi-fuels hub, he said, adding that this will in turn strengthen Singapore’s position as a top bunkering hub. Bunkering, or the refuelling of a marine vessel, can be done from vessel to vessel or in a port.
Vopak, which operates five terminals in Singapore, had previously conducted biofuel trials with its customers.
In August 2022, for instance, Vopak Terminals Singapore participated in a ship-to-ship transfer operation involving the bunkering of biofuel from TotalEnergies.
This trial comprised very low sulphur fuel oil with a 20-per-cent blend of second-generation, waste-based used cooking oil methyl ester.
The latest development marks the “large-scale implementation” of its biofuel capabilities, moving beyond the pilots, Boudestijn told The Business Times.
Vopak is next anticipating a similar scale-up in storage capacity for methanol, another alternative lower-carbon marine fuel.
Given that Vopak was involved in Singapore’s first bio-methanol bunkering pilot last year, the newer bunkering fuel “will similarly be able to scale with the company” in the near future, Boudestijn said, although he added that more pilots are expected before such a scale-up.
